LOUISVILLE -- The Louisville Historic Preservation Commission decided by a narrow margin late Monday not to recommend to the City Council that it choose a developer to pursue restoration of the city's historic grain elevator.

The 3-2 vote came late in the night after hours of painstaking and detailed discussion about the finances of the project and how involved a developer should be in all phases of the elevator's refurbishment.

The commission did approve a motion to recommend that the City Council at least commit enough money to do a basic stabilization of the 109-year-old elevator before doing anything else.

The commission had before it two proposals to restore the 109-year-old elevator -- one from The Olde Town Group LLC, of Arvada, and the other from Hartronft Associates, a Louisville-based architectural firm.

The Olde Town Group put forward a proposal that would cost Louisville around $2.13 million, with the city donating the $950,000 property to the developer and then kicking in $795,000 for stabilization and another $380,000 in adaptive re-use assistance.

The Hartronft proposal would also use historic preservation funds to stabilize the structure and then work closely with the community to determine how redevelopment at the site should proceed. Its plan would cost the city between $1.7 million and $1.8 million.

Both firms were cited in the staff report with having substantial experience with historic preservation.

Hartronft's projects include the State Mercantile building, The Lydia Morgan Senior Housing building and the renovation of 950 Spruce St. -- all in Louisville. The Olde Town Group, made up of husband-and-wife team Steven Howards and Deborah Andrews, have done a lot of work in downtown Arvada and now own and operate 20,000 square feet of commercial historic property there.

The city staff recommended to the Louisville Historic Preservation Commission that it choose The Olde Town Group for the project.

Louisville's economic development director, Aaron DeJong, said the city liked The Olde Town Group's emphasis on adaptive re-use of the elevator -- which features historically rare stacked plank construction -- and its suggestion that it weave the building into the fabric of downtown.

"The Olde Town Group sees the importance of tying the grain elevator to the rest of downtown," DeJong said.

But several members of the commission were concerned about the amount of money the city planned to commit to the restoration of the elevator, especially under Olde Town's proposal.

Commissioner Kirk Watson questioned whether the city was going about it the right way and getting enough return on its investment. Commissioner Aquiles La Grave said the city has a fiduciary duty to make sure the city's historic preservation funds -- which are amassed through a voter-approved historic preservation tax -- are spent wisely.

"When we're talking about the biggest project that has come before us, there is the very real question of opportunity cost down the line," La Grave said.

Chairman Peter Stewart asked whether it was necessary to have a developer on board for stabilization of the property or whether the city could do that portion of the work itself.

Howards, with The Olde Town Group, said he understood the city's concern about expenditures, but he said the city needed to take a long-term outlook. He said he and his wife see the grain elevator as an "iconic structure" that transcends the mere economics that surround it.

"You're preserving it for your kids and your grandkids," he said. "The more appropriate question is 20 years from now, is $1.5 million going to be too much to spend on preserving this?"

He said the city's investment would be protected because his firm would take a three-phase approach to restoration and the city could opt out at any phase if it wanted to go in a new direction.

Louisville has been grappling for years with how to preserve the grain elevator, which nearly met its demise to the wrecking ball last year. The city bought the property in November and then sent out requests for proposal for restoring it.

Lightning has 5A state title aspirations once againIt was the only home plate the Legacy varsity softball field had ever known, and there it was last Saturday, in its tattered state, dug out of the playing surface and relegated to a lonely, unused existence. Full Story

The Boulder alt-country band gives its EPs names such as Death and Resurrection, and its songs bear the mark of hard truths and sin. But the punk energy behind the playing, and the sense that it's all in good fun, make it OK to dance to a song like "Death." Full Story